The very, very model of a modern Major-General

[Ned]

Recent quotes...

At one point, Milley called former national security adviser
to ask if a coup was imminent, the book said. “What the f***
am I dealing with?” Milley asked.

Milley referred to Trump as a "classic authoritarian leader
with nothing to lose," as he compared the former president's
actions to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

"They may try, but they're not going to f****** succeed, Milley
told his deputies, per the book. "You can't do this without the
military. You can't do this without the CIA and the FBI. We're
the guys with the guns."

"This is a Reichstag moment," the general added. "The gospel
of the Fuhrer."

The book also featured an exchange between House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Milley, in which the top Democrat likened Trump to a
"maniac" that could deploy nuclear warheads to stay in power.
"Ma'am, I guarantee you these processes are very good," Milley
was quoted. "There's not going to be an accidental firing of
nuclear weapons."
Pelosi responded: "How can you guarantee me?"
"Ma'am, there's a process," the general replied. "We will only
follow legal orders. We'll only do things that are legal, ethical,
and moral."

Ahead of Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, Milley referred to
potential disruptors of the event as "the same people we fought
in World War II," according to the book. "Here's the deal, guys:
These guys are Nazis, they're boogaloo boys, they're Proud Boys.
These are the same people we fought in World War II. We're
going to put a ring of steel around this city, and the Nazis
aren't getting in," the general was quoted.

Ned

P.S. The very, very model of a modern Major-General!

From an old Brit, who had to wait 24 years for his knighthood
(after his musical partner's knighthood), because his lyrics
were just a little too, too much for Queen Vic)...

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

I'm very good at integral and differential calculus;
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's;
I answer hard acrostics, I've a pretty taste for paradox,
I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,
In conics I can floor peculiarities parabolous;
I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies,
I know the croaking from The Frogs of Aristophanes!
Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.
Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform,
And tell you ev'ry detail of Caractacus's uniform:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

In fact, when I know what is meant by "mamelon" and "ravelin",
When I can tell at sight a Mauser rifle from a Javelin,
When such affairs as sorties and surprises I'm more wary at,
And when I know precisely what is meant by "commissariat"
When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery,
When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery
In short, when I've a smattering of elemental strategy
You'll say a better Major-General has never sat a gee.

For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

[ansaman]

You did NOT reveal the source of these quotes.
What book, what author, what alleged insider?

--
**The AnsaMan**

In a recent self-evaluation:
"One of the greatest minds
produced since the invention
of the electric nose picker!"

[Love]

In article <91aad0ae-f8e7-4c00...@googlegroups.com>, ned...@ix.netcom.com says...

Approved.


--
Love
(On even-numbered days, he/her/its.
On odd-numbered days, she/him/thems.
Alternatively, use normal English
terms appropriate to my sex.)

[Ned]

I kinda understand the knighthood thing. Queen V. took her
army very seriously. A couple of lyrics like this go a long way...

---

When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery,

When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery...

For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;

---

And there were some similar swipes in "Pinafore", which he
mentions in the Major-General song...

Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,

And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore...


But in Pinafore, he really goes to town, true slash and burn...

---
I polished up that handle so carefully
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy...

I copied all the letters in a hand so free
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy...

And that Pass Examination did so well for me
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy...

And that junior partnership I ween
Was the only ship that I ever had seen...

I always voted at my party's call
And I never thought of thinking for myself at all
No, he never thought of thinking for himself at all
I thought so little, they rewarded me
By making me the Ruler of the Queen's Navy...

Now, landsmen all, whoever you may be
If you want to rise to the top of the tree
If your soul isn't fettered to an office stool
Be careful to be guided by this golden rule
Stick close to your desks and never go to sea
And you all may be Rulers of the Queen's Navy.
---

Ned

P.S. Randy Rainbow released a parody of the Major-General's
song in a 2018 video titled "A Very Stable Genius", which
lampoons Donald Trump... https://youtu.be/k-LTRwZb35A?t=23

[DMB]

On Thursday, 15 July 2021 at 08:22:33 UTC-5, Ned wrote:

> I kinda understand the knighthood thing. Queen V. took her
> army very seriously.

Sir Richard Branson

A petition signed by more than 13,000 people calls the business magnate a ‘disgrace to his country’ for asking the UK Government for a £500 million bailout for Virgin Atlantic despite reportedly not paying income tax for 14 years.